8/10/2019 HXE EXAM

1/9

Metaphor

Metaphor Definition

Metaphor is a figure of speech which makes an implicit, implied or

hiddencomparisonbetween two things or objects that are poles apart from each

other but have some characteristics common between them. In other words, a

resemblance of two contradictory or different objects is made based on a single or

some common characteristics.

In simple English, when you portray a person, place, thing, or an action

as being something else, even though it is not actually that something else,you are

speaking metaphorically. He is the black sheep of the family is a metaphor because

he is not a sheep and is not even black. However, we can use this comparison to

describe an association of a black sheep with that person. A black sheep is an

unusual animal and typically stays away from the herd, and the person you are

describing shares similar characteristics.

Furthermore, a metaphor develops a comparison which is different from asimilei.e.

we do not use like or as to develop a comparison in a metaphor. It actually makes

an implicit or hidden comparison and not an explicit one.

Common Speech Examples of Metaphors

Most of us think of a metaphor as a device used in songs or poems only, and that it

has nothing to do with our everyday life. In fact, all of us in our routine life speak,

write and think in metaphors. We cannot avoid them. Metaphors are sometimes

constructed through our common language. They are called conventional

metaphors. Calling a person a night owl or an early bird or saying life is a

journey are common conventional metaphor examples commonly heard and

understood by most of us. Below are some more conventional metaphors we often

hear in our daily life:

1. My brother was boiling mad. (This implies he was too angry.)

2. The assignment was a breeze. (This implies that the assignment was notdifficult.)

http://literarydevices.net/comparison/http://literarydevices.net/comparison/http://literarydevices.net/comparison/http://literarydevices.net/simile/http://literarydevices.net/simile/http://literarydevices.net/simile/http://literarydevices.net/simile/http://literarydevices.net/comparison/

8/10/2019 HXE EXAM

2/9

3. It is going to be clear skiesfrom now on. (This implies that clear skies are not

a threat and life is going to be without hardships)

4. The skies of his future began to darken. (Darkness is a threat; therefore, this

implies that the coming times are going to be hard for him.)5. Her voice is music to his ears. (This implies that her voice makes him feel

happy)

Literary Metaphor Examples

Metaphors are used in all type of literature but not often to the degree they are used

in poetry because poems are meant to communicate complex images and feelings to

the readers and metaphors often state the comparisons most emotively. Here are

some examples of metaphor from famous poems.

Example #1

She is all states, and all princes, I.

John Donne, a metaphysical poet, was well-known for his abundant use of

metaphors throughout his poetical works. In his well-known work The Sun Rising,

the speaker scolds the sun for waking him and his beloved. Among the most

evocative metaphors in literature, he explains she is all states, and all princes, I.

This line demonstrates the speakers belief that he and his beloved are richer than all

states, kingdoms, and rulers in the entire world because of the love that they share.

Example #2

Shall I Compare Thee to a summers Day,

William Shakespeare was the best exponent of the use of metaphors. His poetical

works and dramas all make wide-ranging use of metaphors.

Sonnet18,also known as Shall I Compare Thee to a Summers Day, is

anextended metaphorbetween the love of the speaker and the fairness of the

summer season. He writes that thy eternal summer, here taken to mean the love of

the subject, shall not fade.

http://literarydevices.net/sonnet/http://literarydevices.net/sonnet/http://literarydevices.net/sonnet/http://literarydevices.net/extended-metaphor/http://literarydevices.net/extended-metaphor/http://literarydevices.net/extended-metaphor/http://literarydevices.net/extended-metaphor/http://literarydevices.net/sonnet/

8/10/2019 HXE EXAM

3/9

Example #3

Before high-pild books, in charactry / Hold like rich garners the full-ripened grain,

The great Romantic poet John Keats suffered great losses in his lifethe death of

his father in an accident, and of his mother and brother through tuberculosis.

When he began displaying signs of tuberculosis himself at the age of 22, he wrote

When I Have Fears, a poem rich with metaphors concerning life and death. In the

line before high-pild books, in charactry / Hold like rich garners the full-ripened

grain, he employs a double-metaphor. Writing poetry is implicitly compared with

reaping and sowing, and both these acts represent the emptiness of a life unfulfilled

creatively.

Functions

From the above arguments, explanations and examples, we can easily infer the

function of metaphors; both in our daily lives and in a piece of literature. Using

appropriate metaphors appeals directly to the senses of listeners or readers,

sharpening their imaginations to comprehend what is being communicated to them.

Moreover, it gives a life-like quality to our conversations and to the characters of the

fiction or poetry. Metaphors are also ways of thinking, offering the listeners and the

readers fresh ways of examining ideas and viewing the world.

8/10/2019 HXE EXAM

4/9

Satire

Satire Definition

Satire is a technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and

corruption of an individual or a society by using humor,irony,exaggeration or

ridicule. It intends to improve humanity by criticizing its follies and foibles. A writer in

a satire uses fictional characters, which stand for real people, to expose and

condemn their corruption.

A writer may point a satire toward a person, a country or even the entire world.

Usually, a satire is a comical piece of writing which makes fun of an individual or a

society to expose its stupidity and shortcomings. In addition, he hopes that those he

criticizes will improve their characters by overcoming their weaknesses.

Satire and Irony

Satire and irony are interlinked. Irony is the difference between what is said or done

and what is actually meant. Therefore, writers frequently employ satire to point at the

dishonesty and silliness of individuals and society and criticize them by ridiculing

them.

Examples of Satire in Everyday Life

Most political cartoons which we witness every day in newspapers and magazines

are examples of satire. These cartoons criticize some recent actions of political

figures in a comical way.

Some shows on television are satire examples like The Daily Show, The Colbert

Report, and The Larry Sanders Show. These showsclaimto target what they think

are stupid political and social viewpoints.

Let us see a sample of Stephen Colberts social satire:

If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesnt help the poor, either we have to pretend that

Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or weve got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love

the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just dont want to do it.

http://literarydevices.net/irony/http://literarydevices.net/irony/http://literarydevices.net/irony/http://literarydevices.net/claim/http://literarydevices.net/claim/http://literarydevices.net/claim/http://literarydevices.net/claim/http://literarydevices.net/irony/

8/10/2019 HXE EXAM

5/9

Satire Examples in Literature

Example #1

There are numerous examples of satire in Mark TwainsHuckleberry Finn. He uses

satire as a tool to share his ideas and opinion on slavery, human nature and many

other issues that afflicted American society at that time.

Below are a few citations from the novel that demonstrate satire:

Whats the use you learning to do right, when its troublesome to do right and

isnt no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same? (Chap 16)

There warnt anybody at the church, except maybe a hog or two, for there

warnt any lock on the door, and hogs likes a puncheon floor in summer-time

because its cool. If you notice, most folks dont go to church only when

theyve got to; but a hog is different. (Chap 18)

The pitifulest thing out is a mob; thats what an army isa mob; they dont

fight with courage thats born in them, but with courage thats borrowed from

their mass, and from their officers. But a mob without any man at the head of

it is beneath pitifulness. (chap 22)

Example #2

Alexander PopesThe Rape of the Lockis an example of poetic satire in which he

has satirized the upper middle class of eighteenth century England. It exposes the

vanity of young fashionable ladies and gentlemen and the frivolity of their actions.

For example, Pope says about Belinda after losing her lock of hair:

Whether the nymph shall break Dianas law,

Or some frail china jar receive a flaw,

Or stain her honor, or her new brocade

The line mocks at the values of the fashionable class of that age. The trivial things

were thought of as equal to significant things. For Belinda, the loss of her virtue

becomes equal to a China jar being cracked.

Example #3

8/10/2019 HXE EXAM

6/9

Jonathan SwiftsGulliver Travelsis one of the finest satirical works in English

Literature. Swift relentlessly satirizes politics, religion, and Western Culture.

Criticizing party politics in England, Swift writes,

that for above seventy Moons past there have been two struggling Parties in this

Empire, under the Names of Tramecksan and Slamecksan from the high and low Heels

on their shoes, by which they distinguish themselves.

During Swifts times, two rival political parties, the Whigs and the Tories, dominated

the English political scene. Similarly, The Kingdom of Lilliput is dominated by two

parties distinguished by the size of the heels of their boots. By the trivial disputes

between the two Lilliputian parties, Swift satirizes the minor disputes of the twoEnglish parties of his period.

Function of Satire

The role of satire is to ridicule or criticize those vices in the society, which the writer

considers a threat to civilization. The writer considers it his obligation to expose

these vices for the betterment of humanity. Therefore, the function of satire is not to

make others laugh at persons or ideas they make fun of. It intends to warn the public

and to change their opinions about the prevailing corruption/conditions in society.

Persona

Definition of Persona

8/10/2019 HXE EXAM

7/9

The term persona has been derived from a Latin word persona that means the

mask of an actor, and is therefore etymologically linked to the dramatis

personaewhich refers to the list of characters and cast in a play or a drama. It is also

known as a theatrical mask. It can be defined in a literary work as a voice or anassumed role of a character that represents the thoughts of a writer or a specific

person the writer wants to present as his mouthpiece. Most of the time,

the dramatispersonae are identified with the writers though sometimes a persona

can be a character or an unknown narrator. Examples of persona are found not only

in dramas but in poems and novels, too.Examples of persona in Literature

Example #1

Let us go then, you and I,When the evening is spread out against the skyLike a patient etherized upon a table;Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,The muttering retreatsOf restless nights in one-night cheap hotelsAnd sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:Streets that follow like a tediousargumentOf insidious intentTo lead you to an overwhelming question.Oh, do not ask, What is it?Let us go and make our visit.

In the room the women come and goTalking of Michelangelo.

(The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrockby T.S. Eliot)

These are the initial fifteen lines of the poem Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The

speaker is a persona of T. S. Eliot that he wants to present before the world though

the poet himself is not suffering from the same mentalconflict.

Example #2

Thats my last Duchess painted on the wall,Looking as if she were alive. I callThat piece a wonder, now: Fra Pandolfs hands.Willt please you sit and look at her? I saidFra Pandolf by design, for never readAt starting, is my object. Nay, well goTogether down, sir. Notice Neptune, though,Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity,Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!

(My Last Duchessby Robert Browning)

http://literarydevices.net/argument/http://literarydevices.net/argument/http://literarydevices.net/argument/http://literarydevices.net/conflict/http://literarydevices.net/conflict/http://literarydevices.net/conflict/http://literarydevices.net/conflict/http://literarydevices.net/argument/

8/10/2019 HXE EXAM

8/9

This poem is a dramatic monologue (uses persona). The poet mainly communicates

about the shocking appearance of the duke character. In thisstanzathe persona is

discussing the painting as the monologue opens. Through simple technique the poet

describes the superficiality of the dukes character though it seems to be the voice ofthe poet put into the mouth of the duke.

Example #3

An excerpt from The Old Man and Sea

He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had goneeighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him.But after forty days without a fish the boys parents had told him that the old man was

now definitely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky.The sail was patched with flour sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanentdefeat..

The first paragraph of this book sounds as if Hemingway himself is Santiago.

Through thecharacterizationof Santiago, Hemingway is expressing his belief in the

struggle against unconquerable natural forces of the world. However, it is up to the

persona (Santiago) to determine whether he wants to change his luck or not.

Example #4

An excerpt from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Now when I was a little chap I had a passion for maps. I would look for hours at SouthAmerica, or Africa, or Australia, and lose myself in all the glories of exploration., andwhen I saw one that looked particularly inviting on a map (but they all look that) I wouldput my finger on it and say, When I grow up I will go there Well, I havent been thereyet, and shall not try now. The glamours off. well, we wont talk about that...

Marlow is probably one of the most famous persona examples in novels. In this

novel, Marlow is used as Conrads mouthpiece. In this extract, Conrad is telling us

through Marlow about his own visit to the Congo and his experiences of sailing to

distant places and his boyhood ambition of sailing. Hence, Marlow is used as a

persona in this novel.

Function of Persona

The speaker of a dramatic monologue is also known as a persona. Such a

monologue is presented without commentary or analysis. However, emphasis is laid

http://literarydevices.net/stanza/http://literarydevices.net/stanza/http://literarydevices.net/stanza/http://literarydevices.net/characterization/http://literarydevices.net/characterization/http://literarydevices.net/characterization/http://literarydevices.net/characterization/http://literarydevices.net/stanza/

8/10/2019 HXE EXAM

9/9

on subjective qualities and finally left up to the audience to interpret it. In literature,

authors use persona to express their ideas, beliefs and voices they are not able to

express freely due to some restrictions or that they cannot put into words otherwise.

Persona is also sometimes a role a person or a character assumes in public or in thesociety he lives in.